All I Have, All I Need
by hopelessromantic0707
Summary: "Kate?" There's a murmur in response but her eyes don't open. He gives her a hard shake, calls her name again. Speculation for 'Countdown', based on Canadian promo.


Title: All I Have, All I Need, The Air I Would Kill to Breathe

Rating: PG

Diclaimer: Don't own Castle, no matter how much I love it. Same goes for The Vampire Diaries.

Spoilers: Canadian promo for 'Countdown'.

Summary: "Kate?" There's a murmur in response but her eyes don't open. He gives her a hard shake, calls her name again.

Author's Note: This is a sort of pointless, extremely fluff-ridden take on what happens in, and after, the freezer. Enjoy!

* * *

"I guess that's not good." It's almost a laugh, as she's stares at her fingers, the bluish tint of the nails, self-depracating smile in place.

"No, it's not." He doesn't try to hide his concern, can't play games where she's concerned, not anymore. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he's about three seconds from shaking her (he has to get her to see how serious this is; there are things that need to be said, important things, life or death things. It's pretty much now or never) when he notices the tears in her eyes.

"I get it, Castle." Her face breaks. There's no other way to describe the quiver of her lip, the utterly lost look in her eyes, the tears spilling down her cheeks. Her attempts at wiping them away do nothing; they're already crystallizing, leaving flecks of ice in their wake. "Ok. I get it. It's just...not the way..."

"Hey." She's in his arms before he registers the fact that he opened them to her. "Potential hypothermia makes me irritable." Her laugh reverberates through his chest; it's the warmest he's been since this afternoon. "Truce?"

She backs away from him, extends her hand. He grasps it as she says, "You've got yourself a deal, Mr. Castle."

* * *

They're sitting against the back wall of the refrigerator, his legs streched out in front of him, Beckett resting her head on his shoulder. The rest of her body can't decide what to do with itself, is more or less draped across his lap. Under normal circumstances, he'd be ecstatic about the contact, the promise of a new level in their relationship; tonight, it means she's becoming weaker with each breath.

"The neighbors might think...Say, what's in this drink? I wish I knew how to break the spell." Her voice is soft, barely audible; once he realizes what she's singing, he can't help the smile that spreads across his lips.

"I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell," he whispers. "Which it does, if I may say. The icicles add this whole postmodern, artsy element that's quite unexpected.

"I'll walk to work with my hair wet for the next couple of days, just for you." Her breathing slows and he glances down to find her eyes drifting shut.

"Kate?" There's a murmur in response but her eyes don't open. He gives her a hard shake, calls her name again.

When she finally looks at him, confusion clouds her features.

"You drifted off for a second," he explains, tightening his grip on her hand.

"I can't feel anything." He's about to reassure her that everything's going to be ok (how is he even thinking those words), when he realizes she's still talking. "I just want you to know how much I lo..." The hand that was gripping his jacket falls to her side and the rest of her thought is cut off as she loses consciousness again.

"Stay with me."

* * *

He jolts upright at the sensation of Beckett's hand moving in his. The flourescent lights of the hospital sting his eyes, sending a ribbon of fireworks through his vision.

Standing, he bends over her bed, moves hair out of her eyes, waits for her to drift up from sleep.

"Castle? How...?"

The question gives him something to concentrate on besides the fact that she's awake and talking to him. He doesn't have to be one of those people who falls to his knees professing undying love at the first sign of life. Even if the majority of his being wants to be just that guy, he stomps resolutely on the urge. He has a flair for the theatrical, sure, but he can see where that speech might make her uncomfortable.

This isn't a game, trying to find the perfect moment. He's just waiting for her to be ready. She's not, not yet. Someday soon, she will be.

"Esposito and Fallon found us about ten minutes after you passed out. Good thing, too. I was having a serious conniption trying to wake you. Wasn't pretty. Tears may have been involved."

Her laugh dies in her throat as he presses a kiss to her forehead. "Joking aside, I can count on one hand the number of times I've been that scared." His words are a whisper, make her skin tingle. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

She leans into his embrace, lets him hold her so tightly she can barely breathe. "Same here."

* * *

"So she has a thing for both of them?"

Beckett has to stop herself from chucking the remote at his head; it's in her hand, it would be so easy. Instead, she sighs, "It's hard to explain, Castle. Just watch the show. Please." Sinking deeper into the couch, she cranks the volume, hoping he'll take a hint.

No such luck.

"It's important to ascertain a main character's motivation and preferences from the outset of a series. Since you refuse to let me watch the first season, the least you can do is answer my questions sans hostility." Grabbing the remote, he rewinds the last five minutes of the episode., pauses the DVR. "Now I have to go back and analyze dialogue for clues."

"Jesus, Castle. Fine! If you must know, although I don't see why it's so important: yes, she has a thing for both of them. With Damon, it's more that they have chemistry when they're together and she can't decide how to feel about him." She glances over, sees the smile on his face, feels heat rising to her cheeks.

"I like _The Vampire Diaries_. Sue me. If you'd actually gone home at some point this weekend instead of hanging around here, I could've watched my show in peace and you'd still be blissfully ignorant on the subject of my love of Ian Somerhalder."

"Your secret dies with me, my dear." He crosses his heart before lifting himself out of his seat. "Since you're stuck with me for a few more hours, at least, can I get you some tea?"

"I can..." She makes a move to get up but thinks better of it when she sees his expression. "Thanks. No mi..."

"No milk, two sugars. I know. Same as your coffee." He winks, then heads for her kitchen.

She hits 'Play', earning protests from the other room, telling her to hold her horses, Mystic Falls really sucks a person in. He snickers at his horrible pun. Of course.

She finds it gets more difficult every day to imagine life without times like these. Without Castle.


End file.
